Hello lovely subscribers,
In a week of bad news, I felt the need to write about positivity and community. The best thing about 'being small' is the 'family' of makers that you work with and genuinely get to know so I'm excited to highlight our Kerry dress in linen made by world renowned Emblem Weavers.
Way back in March, just pre lockdown, we met with Stephen to talk linen weaves and checks. We have been working with his company, based in Ireland for the last three years and I always look forward to looking through their cloth selection at a local textile fair. As we looked through gorgeous ginghams and wholesome stripes, Stephen surprised us by saying we could make our own tartan design, so taking the opportunity, we set to task, sketching out, picking yarns and blending colours...all within the space of half an hour! The Kerry check, named after it's Irish provenance, was born.
Our dress fabric has a beautiful aqua ground with warps and wefts of navy and chocolate, ecru and straw ; glowing like the sky streaked with warmer autumnal tones, a rustic check to layer up with boots and knits for winter. We love linen all year round for its natural feel and weighty texture.
For the style, we kept to our favourite easy shape adding a simple ruffle at the neck, and a shorter tiered hem.
Alas, the pandemic meant we couldn't meet up again, so the next time we saw the linen was when it was delivered to the studio, but Stephen kept us posted of its progress with a stream of photos and videos.
We have been overwhelmed with the high demand for this limited edition dress and have sold over half of them already! Luckily, Stephen has come to the rescue and he is busy weaving a new batch at his family run mill. It's good to know your friendly makers.
Thank you Emblem Weavers and thank you all. It's been an extremely busy week with the launch of the new collection. Apologies if you're still waiting, it's been a bit of a catch up this year, but new stock coming next week and we appreciate your patience.
Justine x
We were lucky that we began designing our tartan before lockdown hit... however we still had to fine tune our yarn colours digitally!! A difficult task but one that opened our eyes to 'the new normal' in our design process...
We have carefully designed the tartan in hues of aqua blue and brown, perfect for every season...
On the looms at Emblem...
Our linen is sustainably made using European flax, needing rainwater alone for growing and no nasty pesticides. It's the perfect, comfy cloth to wear all year round, keeping you cool in the summer and warm in winter. Here, we paired the dress with a gorgeous pair of velvet winter boots.
Practical and pretty. The Kerry dress has deep pockets, an easy fit and elasticated sleeves...
The delicate ruffle collar adds a romantic touch while the tiny hook and eye fastening on the neck. Wear closed, open or over layers...
